You Need a CARICOM Invoice (Even Way down in Kokomo)

Aruba, Jamaica,
Ooh I want to take you to
Key Largo, Montego,
Baby, why don’t we go down to Kokomo…

Did you know the Beach Boys were actually singing about exporting to Caribbean islands? OK, maybe not exactly (or at all!), but their classic crooning does remind me of the CARICOM invoice. Here’s what you should know about the document and how it applies to your exports.

What is CARICOM?

The Caribbean Community and Common Market is a trade agreement among the region’s island and littoral states. In 1973, following the breakup of the West Indies Federation (1958-1962) and the dissolution of the Caribbean free-trade agreement of 1968, CARICOM emerged. All goods produced within the common market can theoretically move freely throughout the common market and should not be subject to any import duties, license restrictions, quotas, or other barriers to entry. With some exceptions, goods imported into the member countries from non-member countries are subject to import duties and other import restrictions.

Who’s a member of CARICOM?

The community includes 15 member states: Antigua and Barbuda; The Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Montserrat; Saint Lucia; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as five associate member states:  Anguilla; Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; and Turks and Caicos Islands.  CARICOM member states have approximately 15 million culturally rich and ethnically diverse citizens, providing great market opportunities to meet a wide range of different consumer tastes and lifestyles, according to the Jamaica Exporters’ Association.

Let’s talk exporting. How do I know if I need to use the CARICOM invoice?

As an exporter, one of your first sources should be your customer who’s importing the goods. As part of the negotiation process, make sure you define what their expectations are for you (as well as yours of them). Ask what they are expecting you to provide as well as any unique information about this specific export. Define this as a part of the sales process. Understanding who’s responsible for what is a significant and necessary part of the negotiation process, and many times, people don’t discuss the documentary terms. By being clear about these things from the outset, you’ll know if you should use the CARICOM invoice for your export.

Additionally, there are a variety of resources including the World Customs Organization, Bloomberg/BNA's documentary requirements, and guidance provided at Export.gov that can help you identify if you should use the CARICOM invoice or if another document could be a better fit.

I’ve heard I don’t need to use the CARICOM invoice specifically. Is that true?

You may be able to use a form that is similar to the CARICOM invoice document if it contains all of the information the CARICOM invoice requires. This is generally a question of satisfying the requirements of your importer and/or the importer’s broker, who may be used to working with a certain invoice.

However, there’s a better solution. Instead of being pretty sure you’ve completed the information you need on a similar invoice form, Shipping Solutions software takes the information you’ve already entered for those other forms and applies it to the CARICOM form—no guess work, no wasted time, and most importantly, all of the required information is automatically formatted for the CARICOM form, which means you won’t risk delaying your shipment at customs due to errors on invoices. You can download the CARICOM invoice here.

As a seller, you’re trying to attract a buyer, and by meeting their price terms, terms of sales, financing obligations, and providing paperwork in the format potential buyers want, the more likely you will be to turn them into a repeat customer. And that is good for business!

P.S. Our title may be a bit misleading. You don’t actually need a CARICOM invoice in Kokomo, and here’s why: it doesn’t exist in the Caribbean!